A. L. Buehrer What I Write and Why

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Interveiw with Dahskay Onlore, Main Character of The Stardrift Trilogy

Now things get fun. Today,
I’m staging an interview with The Stardrift Trilogy’s main character, Dahskay
Onlore. Dahskay Onlore is an apprenticed radio astronomer working as an intern
at her father’s Observatory in the mountains on the planet of Finzar. In
Earth-years, she would be about sixteen when the story starts.

What
are your favorite and least favorite things about your job at the observatory?

For
one thing, I love the setting. The Ematosk Mountains are beautiful, and the
emotional climate at the observatory is so peaceful and contemplative most of
the time. It’s kind of a vacation setting. Then there’s the whole astronomy
aspect. I love our subject-matter. It’s all so huge and fantastical, and the
fact that our sole purpose is to listen to what the heavenly bodies are
saying…that’s cool. (Laughs.) If you can’t see how cool that is, I can’t help
you.

Things that aren’t as cool would be the
boring technical things and the computer work. I don’t like technology very
much. And then there’s the fact that you’re kind of isolated up there and stuck
with the same bunch of people all the time. That sometimes gets old.

How
do you choose who to hang out with?

Well,
when you’re working, you don’t often get to choose, but during breaks and the
off-time we get every four days, I prefer to be with my brothers. Otherwise
there are several girls that live in my dorm who I like. I like good
communicators, quiet people, people with interesting stories. Some of the other
interns aren’t really going into astronomy, so there are some that I have to
search around for common ground with. But for the most part, a lot of the
people at the observatory share that interest. It’s nice to be with people who
have a passion for what you love.

Do
you find it easy to trust people, and get along?

Yeah,
usually, I’d say I do. I like to see people in reference to their experiences
and know them for who they are. A lot of people dismiss other people too easily
as this or that, and walk away, or run away, accordingly. I try to be patient
and learn about people, and try to assume the best of them. I found it really
pays off.

Do
you consider yourself a heroic person?

I
don’t know…I guess it depends on how you define a hero. Standing up for what’s
right under pressure and standing by the people you love are important, I
guess. Those are things I try to do. I would be willing to do whatever I had to
do to help people who needed me. Self-sacrifice and hope are probably the virtues
that I would say define a hero. I want to be that strong, but I don’t know for
sure if I am, right now.

Do
you think individuals are important in the grand scheme of things?

Wow…big
question. As an astronomer, you spend so much time in light of the giant realm
we call the universe. Really, you would think that people and their individual
struggles and achievements would shrink by comparison. Sometimes I wish they
would. But yes, I think people are infinitely important--as important as the
universe is huge. It’s a mistake to separate individuals from the grand design.
Everyone’s an essential part of it.

Do
you believe in a higher power?

Yes.
I’ve always believed in God, but there’s something about astronomy, and space
travel as well, that just keeps emphasizing it. You can’t feel alone out there.
I don’t really like space travel, but, with all the comfort and familiarity
stripped away, that’s when you really know that it isn’t just your personal
culture, your hometown, your planet. You get out there tens of millions of
miles from all that, and your head clears, and you know it’s not your
imagination.

If
you could send a message to everyone in the universe, what would you say?

I’d
tell them to listen. Listening is so underrated. People don’t seem to have the
curiosity or the imagination to search for what might be calling them. You
never can know what your destiny is really meant to be. Mostly just because
it’s so celestial, and so huge, you can’t take it in. But if you listen, you
might get some hints of what’s coming for you. And it’s not something bound to
your home planet. Your life was never meant to be that small.